With the NHL All-Star game fast approaching, full divisional rosters will be revealed later today — at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time on NBCSN, to be precise. Since no one on the Kings is having an actual all-star caliber season, here are some choices from the mind of yours truly as to who should represent the Kings:
- A three-headed goalie tandem of Jonathan Quick, Jack Campbell, and Cal Petersen: With goaltending being the only thing keeping the Kings afloat most nights, it’s only fair to bundle the three into one whole goalie and give the entire contraption the nod. (Peter Budaj can show up with a towel and water bottle, much the same way that Campbell supported Quick during last year’s NHL Awards.)
- Matt Luff: But only if the skills competition he competes in is “best last name puns” and tells bad jokes the whole time.
- Austin Wagner: Breakaway competition? Fastest skater competition? The Kings’ red-headed cheetah was built for these challenges. Give him a chance!
- Dustin Brown: He leads the team in goals! That’s worth something, right?
- Alec Martinez: All-Star game, but for being really really really pretty. (Jeff Carter can serve as his alternate in case he can’t attend.)
- Derek Forbort: I propose creating a Pictionary competition solely for Forbort to compete in. Every drawing he has to guess is actually a different type of bird. /
(The real choice will probably be Anze Kopitar or Drew Doughty. We’ll find out tonight.)
Kings Things
Jack Campbell, good. Everything else, bad. [Jewels from the Crown]
The view from the other side of the ice. [Knights on Ice]
Post-game notes and reactions from Willie Desjardins, Jake Muzzin, and Jack Campbell. [Kings Insider]
Lessons learned from yesterday’s loss. [Los Angeles Times]
Austin Wagner’s still working on consistent scoring, but he’s already establishing himself as a player with some snarl to his game. [Los Angeles Daily News]
In case you missed it, I talked with Sie and Kyle of Fear the Fin about the Kings/Sharks rivalry, Rob Blake: sleeper agent, and Martin Jones, our perfect robot goalie son. [Fear the Fin]
Sean Walker earned an NHL contract after strong play in the AHL last year. Now he’s looking to improve his all-around game to stay in the NHL. [Kings Insider]
World Juniors Check-in
The quarterfinal round of World Juniors begins today. Here’s a check-in with Kings prospects as to how they’ve fared so far. [LA Kings]
Your televised round-up for today:
- Sweden vs. Switzerland (1 p.m. Pacific; NHLN, TSN3)
- Canada vs. Finland (3:30 p.m. Pacific, TSN)
- United States vs. Czech Republic (5 p.m. Pacific; NHLN, TSN2)/
Elsewhere
A deep dive into the coach’s challenge. [Winging it in Motown]
The Flyers need to be sellers at the trade deadline. [Broad Street Hockey]
The Winnipeg Jets have a very unique scout who comes up big at draft time: Dan Shrader, Minnesota-based sanitation worker and amateur scout. [Grand Forks Herald]
The Columbus Blue Jackets are having fun with their tags to denote game-worn jerseys. [The Athletic]
The Lamoureux twins almost didn’t make the US women’s Olympics team, but persevered and came up big when the spotlight came calling. [Grand Forks Herald]
Washington Capitals: superstition fiends. [NBC Sports]
New Jersey goalie prospect Mackenzie Blackwood has ascended to the NHL and is already making some good waves. [All About the Jersey]
A look at depth scoring and the Dallas Stars. [Defending Big D]
Ever since the NWHL came to Boston, the CWHL’s Boston, now Worcester, Blades have struggled. How can the league save the franchise? [The Ice Garden]
Evening Entertainment
Watch the Dallas Stars as much as possible just to see if Jamie Benn and/or Tyler Seguin go absolutely ballistic and score five goals in a game or something. They’re playing the New Jersey Devils tonight at 5:30 PM Pacific. The game can be streamed via the NHL’s streaming service.